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Budget Highlight: Increased Benefits for Workers and Families

March 6, 2018

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The 2018 Federal Budget is good news for Thunder Bay—Rainy River! This week I’ll be sharing highlights from Budget 2018. Today I’m talking about improvements to Canada`s EI system, the revamping of the CCB, and the new Canada Workers Benefit.

In this budget we’re introducing the Canada Workers Benefit – a stronger, bigger and more accessible program that replaces the Working Income Tax Benefit. The CWB will offer more money to help with the cost of basics like food and clothes, so that a low-income worker earning $15,000 could receive up to almost $500 more from the CWB in 2019 than under the WITB in 2018. By making this benefit more generous, and by automatically giving the benefit to all those who qualify, we will help lift about 70,000 more Canadians out of poverty by 2020.

To ensure that the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) continues to help Canadian families over the long term, the 2017 Fall Economic Statement proposed to index CCB benefits, starting in July 2018, to keep pace with the cost of living. Indexing the CCB will provide an additional $5.6 billion in support to Canadian families over the 2018-19 to 2022-23 period. Specifically, families in Ontario will receive $2.1 billion in additional support over the 2018-19 to 2022-23 period.

Budget 2018 – Equality + Growth: A Strong Middle Class – supports our government’s people-centred approach. Guided by a new Gender Results Framework, Budget 2018 proposes measures to ensure that every Canadian has a real and fair chance at success.

This a plan that puts people first, builds on the hard work of Canadians, and keeps us squarely focused on the future—so that our children have better opportunities to follow their dreams, find good jobs, and give back to their community.